On the Impact of an EFL Reflective Practicum on Teachers’ Self-Efficacy

Abstract

After the disappearance of the method and with the emergence of post-method condition, the English language teachers were required to make improvised decisions in the world of classroom. In absence of any method to be adhered to in this era, the seemingly left-alone teachers were supported by the principles of reflective teaching. In other words, the ELT profession has witnessed a heightened interest directed towards teachers and teacher-related variables over the past few decades. As one of the key variables of teachers, self-efficacy has been given a lion share of the variance accounting for the performance of teachers in the classroom. The purpose of the current study is to investigate the effect of an EFL reflective teaching practicum on the teachers’ sense of self-efficacy. In so doing, a sample of 30 practicing English teachers were divided into two experimental and control groups based on their scores on self-efficacy pre-test. The participants of the experimental group (n=16) underwent a reflection course during 10 weeks while, the control group (n=15) participated in a regular teacher training course based on the review of the traditional methods in ELT. The statistical analysis of the collected data revealed that there was a significant difference between the pre-test and posttest for the experimental group while for the control group the results of both tests did not differ significantly. The findings of the present study offer both theoretical and pedagogical implications for teacher education program.